God hath made all things for Himself--
(Prov. xvi 4.)
We are all of us jealous of what belongs to
ourselves. We resent it if any one interferes with
it, or deprives us of any portion of it. Yet no one
owns anything by a title so absolute as that by
which God is the Lord and owner of all creatures
in the universe. My body and my soul are His;
everything I possess is His; every action, every
thought belongs to Him. He has given all these
in charge to me to use for Him. Do I do so?
God is moreover a God infinite in knowledge
and in power. His all-seeing eye overlooks nothing,
forgets nothing, passes nothing by. No one shall
escape who takes anything from Him, and does not
give Him His due. God will not forget the ill use
that men make of His gifts, though they themselves
soon forget it. Have I not therefore cause to tremble
when I think how often I have behaved as
if I were my own master, independent of God?
Yet in the end I must recognize God's ownership; if I do not do so willingly and with joyful
loyalty, I shall have to do so unwillingly and in
misery and pain. Everything I have taken from
God and appropriated to myself will have to be
given back to Him. I shall have to pay the penalty
for each misuse of what was entrusted to me.
How much wiser and happier to recognize Him
now in all things as my Lord and Master!
Offer yourself to God with loyal submission as your
God and Lord.